A Slice of Fun: The Oldtown Pie Social

A Slice of Fun: The Oldtown Pie Social

Jarrod E. Stephens

The Ashland Beacon

Sometimes it’s nice to sit and listen to someone talk about the “good ole days.” As they reminisce about community events where crowds would gather for evenings of fun, it makes one long to be part of the time. Thankfully we still have some community events where you don’t have to talk about the good times of yesteryear, but instead you can still take part.

The little community of Oldtown may be difficult to locate on a map, but like many places in the region, there’s something special about it. Each spring as the surrounding farms begin to turn green with new growth and spring calves bound in the pastures, the Oldtown Volunteer Fire Department in Greenup County hosts its annual Pie Social. My boys get so excited once they begin seeing the little black and white signs advertising the event each spring. If you’ve ever gone, you will certainly want to go back and if you’ve never been, you don’t know what you are missing.

As the music begins, the big bay doors of the fire department are left standing open as it’s usually a standing room only event. Praise is given to God in song and prayer for the community and the volunteer fire fighters who take care of the residents. Out front you can see the amazing trucks that the department has at their disposal to keep the Oldtown community safe. Of course, since it’s a pie social, there are pies and cakes aplenty.

This year marked the 41^st annual pie social fundraising event. Like many other public events, the pie social fell victim to Covid and was not held for a few years. Men and women from Oldtown bake and prepare goods that will be auctioned to the highest bidder. You’ll never find better desserts than the ones prepared for this event.   

As the music plays, people bring in their goods for auction, and everyone enjoys the time of fellowship and of course a good meal. Old friends come together and new friends are made. It’s interesting to watch eager eyes scour the bid items before the auctioneer begins his job.

Once the auction begins, you have to be careful to keep up with the high bid or you may miss out on your sweet treat. Politicians show up and line the walls while bidding against one another in one of the only friendly competitions they’ll engage in. As the bids grow you can often spot the baker as they carefully listen to hear how much their contribution benefits the department. Friends bid against friends to run up the prices while the auctioneers do their best to raise the prices.

People don’t come looking for a bargain as some of the cakes and pies sell for several hundred dollars each. It’s all for a good cause. When asked how the event would benefit the department, Chief Ramond Martin stated, “What we make here tonight will pretty much pay our insurance for the year. It’s always rising, so it’s important.”

The most special part of the evening is always the genuine conversation and laughter that fills the air. In spite of all the technology that is available, the Oldtown residents obviously prefer old-fashioned face-to-face conversations. While most of the charter members of the department are no longer with us, the dedication to the community and service lives on through the department’s current membership.

At the conclusion of the pie social no one seems to want to leave. Folks linger but the crowd slowly disperses with more than pie and cake. People leave with a renewed sense of community and great memories of how things were “back then.”